Su Huan-chih (; born July 20, 1956) is a Taiwanese politician who was the magistrate of

Tainan County Tainan County was a County (Taiwan), county in southern Taiwan between 1945 and 2010. The county seat was in Xinying District, Sinying City. History Tainan County was established on 7 January 1946 on the territory of Tainan Prefecture () sh ...

from 2001 to 2010, until Tainan County's merger into

Tainan City Tainan (), officially Tainan City, is a special municipality in southern Taiwan, facing the Taiwan Strait on its western coast. Tainan is the oldest city on the island and commonly called the " prefectural capital" for its over 260-year histo ...

. Born in a rural township in southern

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

, Su graduated from

National Taiwan University National Taiwan University (NTU; zh, t=國立臺灣大學, poj=Kok-li̍p Tâi-oân Tāi-ha̍k, p=, s=) is a National university, national Public university, public research university in Taipei, Taiwan. Founded in 1928 during Taiwan under J ...

. He passed the

bar examination A bar examination is an examination administered by the bar association of a jurisdiction that a lawyer must pass in order to be admitted to the bar of that jurisdiction. Australia Administering bar exams is the responsibility of the bar associat ...

in 1986 and started his career as a lawyer. Su made his entry into politics in the 1990s. He was elected legislator three times in a row serving from 1992 to 2001. As an experienced legislator, Su launched a magisterial campaign in 2001 and was elected with over 51% of the votes, becoming the second member of the

Democratic Progressive Party The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a centre to centre-left Taiwanese nationalist political party in Taiwan. As the dominant party in the Pan-Green Coalition, one of the two main political camps in Taiwan, the DPP is currently the ...

to ever hold the position.

Early life and career

Su Huan-chih was born on July 20, 1956 in Cigu,

. He grew up in the agriculture-based township during his childhood years. Su began studying at the prestigious

, majoring in

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

. He decided to drop out and switched his major to law in 1977. After passing the

, Su started his career as a practicing lawyer. With his academic experience in physics, he was hired by IBM Taiwan to serve as its

patent attorney A patent attorney is an attorney who has the specialized qualifications necessary for representing clients in obtaining patents and acting in all matters and procedures relating to patent law and practice, such as filing patent applications and o ...

. Su gave up his job at IBM and went back to his hometown to run for legislator. He was elected a member of the

Legislative Yuan The Legislative Yuan () is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of China (Taiwan) located in Taipei. The Legislative Yuan is composed of 113 members, who are directly elected for four-year terms by people of the Taiwan Area through a ...

in 1992. He promoted the senior welfare and

environmental protection Environmental protection, or environment protection, refers to the taking of measures to protecting the natural environment, prevent pollution and maintain ecological balance. Action may be taken by individuals, advocacy groups and governments. ...

. Having been elected three times in a row, Su worked to decrease the difference in resource distribution between northern and southern Taiwan.

Tainan magistracy

Su was elected the magistrate of

and took office on December 20, 2001. He focused on preserving the environment of the region. For example, he worked with international ecologists and planned to build a research center near the habitat of

black-faced spoonbill The black-faced spoonbill (''Platalea minor'') is a species of wading bird in the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae, found in eastern Asia. This species has the most restricted distribution of the six spoonbill species, and it is the ...

s with a goal to preserve these

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

birds. The Su administration also improved the technological economy of the region. The

net worth Net worth is the value of all the non-financial and financial assets owned by an individual or institution minus the value of all its outstanding liabilities. Financial assets minus outstanding liabilities equal net financial assets, so net w ...

of the Tainan Science Park grew from NT$50.1 billion in 2001 to NT$451.6 billion in 2006. Apart from the growth in profit, many new industrial parks were established. As a result, Tainan County transformed from an agrarian county to a technological county. Despite the technological innovations, Su also promoted agriculture of southern Taiwan. The Taiwan Orchid Plantation () was founded during his term. The plantation has held three international exhibitions since its establishment. The exhibitions attracted more than 600 thousand visitors gaining NT$400 million from export orders.

Later political career

In March 2018, Su began his independent campaign for the Taipei mayoralty. He ended his Taipei mayoral bid in July, choosing to contest the same office in Tainan. On 24 August 2019, Su founded the and was elected its convenor. During the 2022 local election cycle, Su contested the Taipei mayoralty.

References

External links

Taiwan Orchid Plantation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Su, Huan-chih 1956 births Living people Magistrates of Tainan County Democratic Progressive Party Members of the Legislative Yuan Tainan Members of the Legislative Yuan National Taiwan University alumni Fu Jen Catholic University alumni Members of the 2nd Legislative Yuan Members of the 3rd Legislative Yuan Members of the 4th Legislative Yuan IBM employees 21st-century Taiwanese judges Taiwanese political party founders 20th-century Taiwanese lawyers